Abstract

MANZANARES RIVERA, José Luis. Water use in shale gas extraction in Northeast Mexico: Environmental regulation Challenges. Estud. soc [online]. 2014, vol.22, n.44, pp.172-197. ISSN 0188-4557.

The goal is to analyze the environmental regulatory protection framework in México in face of the challenges that hydraulic fracturing represents for local drinking water sources. A descriptive methodology approach is applied, using the case of the U.S. as reference. The results indicate that current Mexican regulatory framework presents robust measures that highly restrict hydraulic fracturing however; given the complex nature of the process, an explicit ban hasn´t been implemented. Conclusions indicate that the extraction of shale gas presents a high uncertainty level regarding its potential environmental impacts. Therefore efforts to eliminate the uncertainty should be taken to contribute to a socially responsible exploitation of this resource.

Keywords : hydraulic fracturing; energy; shale gas; environmental regulation; flowback water management.